Gillian Saga III - Closure
by monica.prelooker
Summary: The BAU has to handle a hostages crisis, while King Gillian tries to take over the case to break in hard and put a quick end to it. This time Gillian will be the BAU's inside man, while she and Hotch are unwillingly reminded of how they bonded further than their differences.
1. Gillian Saga III Closure teaser 1-2

_"__It's a long way now to where I used to rest my head. It's safe and sound, if only I could turn around. There's no direction where I stand_

_Just dead-end signs and wasted land."_

In a working class neighborhood in Lawrence, Massachusetts, SWAT breaches a house and Morgan and Jennifer follow them in, guns drawn, as they all spread apart.

A few miles south from there, police cruisers and an ambulance converge at a gas station. The BAU's SUV arrives and Rossi and Reid join the Sheriff, while his deputies question the witnesses.

"The son of a bitch got away!" the Sheriff grunts, flustered.

Reid heads to the mini market while Rossi asks: "You're sure it was him?"

"All the witnesses identified his picture. And he took another car."

"We need an APB on the car and check points on the roads."

Rossi leaves the Sheriff to it and follows Reid into the mini market.

At Lawrence's police station, Hotch is pinning the pictures of an old couple to the board. It doesn't make any sense. The unsub killed three gang members, and then attacked the Cronwells. Talk about victimology all over, from ex-cons to retired couples.

And he's in an unstoppable spree: just when they identified him and went to his place to arrest him, they got the call from the gas station, where he'd just gunned down the owner, hijacked a car and fled.

Fine, the gang members attacked the unsub and his younger brother three days ago, the attack when wrong and it ended up with the unsub's brother dead. So the unsub snapped, bought a shotgun and went after them.

And not 24 hours later he shoots the Cronwells?

There's an obvious missing thread connecting them, but they still can't see it and it's getting to Hotch's nerves. He calls Garcia for the tenth time in as many minutes.

"Garcia, still nothing connecting the Palmer brothers to the Cronwells?"

"No, sir, but I've just found a sealed record of Social Services on them."

"Unseal it."

"As we speak, sir, let me call you back."

Hotch's phone rings: Morgan to confirm the unsub's not in his house.

At the mini market, Reid and Rossi keep from stepping on the pool of blood behind the counter, from an already removed dead body.

Reid checks the security footage while Rossi takes a look at the shelf under the counter, finding the empty holster of a gun. Reid points at the screen for him to watch.

"Look, Palmer made all the clients leave."

Rossi goes to stand by him and nods. "He locks the door so no-one would interrupt him."

"He doesn't even flinch when the owner points a gun at him, and shoots him straight in the chest, then in the face."

"That's pretty personal." Rossi dials his phone. "Hotch, this was not random. He could've shot five more people here, but he only killed the owner."

Hotch is pinning the picture of a 60-year-old man along with the other victims, shouldering his phone.

"His name was Dexter Masterson," he tells Rossi. "Garcia just found that he had the Palmer brothers in foster care years ago. Did Palmer take anything from there?

"He didn't touch the cash, but he stole a car and took Masterson's gun."

"Come back to the station, we need to figure where he's heading now."

At the unsub's house, Morgan is standing before an open computer while he teases Garcia on the phone. Jennifer joins him with the printed map of the downtown area of a city.

"Look, he circled this place, a café. This can be his next target, but I can't tell what city this is."

Morgan takes a minute to study the map and his face darkens. "Call you back, baby girl," he says, disconnecting to dial again.

Hotch's phone rings at the same time a deputy knocks on the conference room's door and comes in to say: "Agent Hotchner, the suspect just evaded a check point. He's heading south down the I-93."

Hotch turns to the map taking Morgan's call.

"Hotch, I know where he's heading."

Hotch's scowl deepens as his eyes follow the I-93 on the map.


	2. Gillian Saga III Closure teaser 2-2

Gillian exits the FBI field office in Boston and scoffs at her phone buzzing. It's Al, of course, to choke her with questions about the so unexpected call to a meeting from the federal office in town.

She takes the call as she makes her way across the street for what she calls a "brass coffee", since the Boston PD headquarters are around the corner, and all the high ranked officers working there, including her father, are regulars at this particular coffee shop.

Aldana and Tanya shoot their anxious questions from their new office, and Gillian lets them empty their clips before even trying to answer. She uses that time to go to the counter and order a cappuccino with extra cinnamon.

"Your name, ma'am?" the smiling cashier asks.

"Gillian," she answers, thinking: _it's in my card, in your hand, you silly girl_.

The cashier smiles wider. "Like commander Gillian?" she slides Gillian's card and hands it back to her. "Have a sit, ma'am, we'll call you."

Gillian heads to the rest-room, right in time to miss Cook coming in and smiling like a Hollywood star at the young waitresses moving around the tables.

The BAU team is wishing their jet could fly even faster. Hotch calls Garcia via computer.

"Garcia, did you warn the Boston PD about Palmer? Did you tell them it's our case and we're coming?"

"They keep leaving me on hold, sir!" Garcia replies, flustered.

"Then call our field office."

"And call Reg," Morgan adds. "She can make them pick the phone."

"On it!"

But Gillian is on the phone with her agents, washing her hands as she tells them about the meeting.

"Well, they're right about the budget issue, you know. We are sort of doomed…"

She feels a chill in her back and turns around, spotting the open window.

"Cook is already bugging me, saying we don't really need two techies, actually not even one, that damned stone-age dinosaur…" She tries to pull the window down and close it as she keeps talking: "I don't know, girls, of course it would be like huge leap for our careers, but… leaving the force?" the window is stuck. "Shit! Why the hell do they leave an open window? Not like this is frigging Jamaica!"

She's about to keep talking when she hears a shout out in the shop.

"Wait a sec, girls…" she whispers, going to the door.

Right then a shot thunders the shop. Gillian sharply stops. That was no hand gun. She tiptoes to the door, noiselessly pushes it a bit open and peers in.

There's a very young man pointing a shotgun at the cashier as he says: "Tell Strafford he better hurry". And right by him, sprawled on the floor by the counter, blood gushing off his leg, she sees Cook.

The young man grabs a waitress and takes her to the door at shotgun point. Gillian steps quickly in and sticks to the wall taking a deep breath.

Aldana and Tanya are asking what's going on.

This is math 101: officer shot + cops in charge = bloodshed.

Gillian thinks of SSA Cooper, the stiffened 45-year-old woman in her perfectly custom tailored suit she just met in the FBI field office. Her guts say there's no point in calling her: she won't listen.

So she hisses on the phone: "Al, I'm in Orlando's! Call Morgan! _Now!_"

She hangs up. Morgan will know how to make SSA Cooper middle in this mess. Her or any other fed ranked enough to keep her colleagues at bay.

She runs back to the open window and sticks half of her body out to look around. _Shit_. Only the coffee shop's backdoor opens to it. Then it's all windows from the upper floors of the building next door, and no way to reach any of them without a ladder.

_Ok. No getting out this way without help._ She quickly texts three words and keeps her phone breathing as deep as she can.

Cook, the cashier, two more employees behind the counter, two waitresses. How many customers at the tables or the counter? Ten? Twelve? One child, a little girl.

And a young man with a shotgun.

Her heart threatens to climb its way up to her throat. She swallows it back.

She can do this.

She better.


	3. Gillian Saga III Closure Act One 1-4

Act one

_"__There is no escape —we pay for the violence of our ancestors" - Frank Herbert_

The BAU team is heading to the SUVs waiting for them at Boston airport when Morgan's phone rings. He takes the call, hangs up right away and signals Jennifer to hurry with him to one of the vehicles.

"Guys! Palmer is already here and he just took a dozen hostages at a coffee shop!"

"The café he circled in the map!" Jennifer recalls.

"How do you know?" Hotch ask, hurrying to the other SUV.

"That was Al with the TPU on the phone: Reg was in the coffee shop when Palmer took it over."

"Was? She made it out?" Reid asks.

"Al doesn't know. She's meeting us at the site. They're already sending the address to us."

They climb into the SUVs and floor them off the airport and into the scrambled traffic of Boston's labyrinth.

Sirens don't work miracles, and Hotch knows he better manages his impatience, as he takes heed of the tiniest gaps among cars to make their way to the coffee shop. Too many people on the sidewalks to use them as a shortcut.

So Gillian might be in there, among the hostages.

He's never seen her or talked to her again since they met for the bomber's case, some four months ago. He knows she stays in touch with his team, and she's even got sort of close with them.

She's been to DC two or three times since the bomber's case, always staying at Morgan's and getting together with his team when they're not on a case. He's heard them commenting about it. And he's even heard about Reid and Dave coming to Boston for her son's birthday or something like that.

But he's never been to any of those get-together. What little free time he gets is entirely for Jack, and Beth.

She never tried to see him, either. After that night trapped in the blasted building, none of them is in any hurry to face each other again. Some sort of weird tacit pact not to come across each other's way. Nothing either of them would be able to logically explain, but if Hotch has to word it, he'd say it's just mutual respect for each other's armors.

Only once somebody brought up Gillian's name in his presence. Reid, a month ago or so, to ask for his help about- Garcia on speakers cuts him up back from his thoughts.

"I'm already linked to the TPU, they're feeding me live stream from security cameras all around the place."

"Do you have eyes inside?" Hotch asks.

"In a minute, sir."

"Is the police already there?" Jennifer asks from the other SUV.

"Yes, they're already closing the area."

"Did Palmer make any demand?" That's Rossi, the natural negotiator.

"We still don't know, sir. It happened only five minutes ago."

"Do you know what happened?" Morgan asks.

"Al was on the phone with LT and there was a loud shot. Then LT told her to call you and hung up. And she's not answering her phone anymore."

"We're gonna need one of their analysts there," Hotch says.

"Tanya is already on her way, with Al and their sniper."

"Boston PD responded fast," Jennifer notes.

"Their headquarters are just around the corner."

Morgan phone buzzes and he hands it to Jennifer, to keep all of his attention on the messy traffic.

"Guys, Reg just texted."

"Is she ok?" Rossi asks right away.

Hotch notices Jennifer calling her "Reg", just like Rossi's concern. Yes, she's got close to them.

"I don't know," Jennifer sounds flustered. "All she texted is _ladies room window_."

"Garcia, make sure the Boston PD knows we're coming and this is our case," Hotch says once more.

"Tell Tanya to pull the blueprints of the building," Reid requests.

"Oh, my…!"

Garcia's exclamation startles everybody up.

"What! What is it?" Rossi demands.

She answers in a weary voice. "I have eyes inside. LT is coming out of the rest room…"


	4. Gillian Saga III Closure Act One 2-4

And she is. Gillian shows up raising a bit her hands. A quick glance shows her everybody crouching on the floor against the walls and counter. The little girl is there, with his mother, and she looks scared but fine. The young man is standing by the counter holding a shotgun _and_ a gun. Great.

And right at his feet, both waitresses are kneeling by Cook, pressing a table cloth already drenched in blood to his leg.

The young man keeps pointing the gun at the now pale and not-smiling-at-all cashier as he lifts the shotgun at Gillian, who approaches him slow and careful. His calm and his smirk give her a bad feeling right away.

"Come in, ma'am, welcome to our little party," he says.

Gillian breathes and lets 20 years of police work and adrenaline work their magic, allowing her to keep her cool to say: "Look, I'm a police officer, ok? So now I'm gonna take my gun out to give it to you."

He looks straight into her eyes. "No tricks, ma'am."

She holds up his eyes without a blink. "No tricks."

She slowly does as she said and throws her gun to his feet. He kicks it backwards, away from anybody's reach.

"What're you doing, Gillian?" Cook snarls.

"Looks like the oldtimer knows you," the man notes, with a mocking hint.

Gillian's guts are smelling the chance of a leverage. She smirks. "Meet my boss, captain Cook, with Boston PD."

"He likes to play the hero and tried to shoot me."

There it is. Gillian grasps it, not planning on letting it go. So she adds a shrug to her smirk. "You know old cops: all of them John Wayne diehard fans."

Cook scowls up at her in disbelief. Damned woman! Instead of trying to overcome him, Gillian is playing the friend with the son of a bitch?

Yes, she is. "So, I'm lieutenant Gillian, but you can call me Reg. And you are…?"

"Phil Palmer, truly yours, ma'am."

"Nice to meet you, Phil. Can I take a look at my boss?"

"Be my guest."

Gillian turns to the cashier. "D'you have a first-aid kit at hand?"

The girl nods, staring in fear at Phil. He flashes a warning look at her and she reaches under the counter, producing a white box.

Gillian takes it and intentionally turns her back to Phil when she crouches down by Cook: you're in charge, but I'm not afraid of your guns.

Half a mile away, Hotch urges Garcia for an update.

She tells them what she's watching on her screen: "There's a wounded man, LT is taking care of him. Palmer is lining up hostages against the shop window."

"He's making a human shield," Jennifer grimaces.

"Can you send us the stream?" Reid requests.

"Sending it."

"Is there any other sign of violence?" Rossi asks.

"No, sir. All of them look fine, considering the circumstances."

Reid watches the feed in his tablet and frowns. "The injured man is captain Cook."

Rossi huffs. "He sure tried to shoot Palmer."

Morgan words the general opinion: "Cook in there is bad news."

Hotch agrees: "Yes, he will antagonize Palmer."

"Reg will keep him from causing more harm," Jennifer says.

Well, that's a statement. But Hotch is used to trust Jennifer's judgment, and he's not going to change that now.

He says: "JJ, get me the Mayor. With two officers among the hostages, local police will try to take things in their own hands."

"Guys, looks like Regan's made some kind of rapport with Palmer…," Reid says then, and he leans forward to show Rossi his tablet. "Palmer has all the hostages between him and the window. But she's called a waitress to stay with Cook, and now she's behind the counter, fixing Palmer a coffee…"

"Give her a couple of hours…" Morgan smiles.

Hotch hears their scoffs around and over the speaker, and for some reason it irritates him. They have a suicidal killer on a spree with fifteen hostages and two fire arms. It's not the moment to sit back and giggle at Gillian's wits.

"We may not have that much time," he sharply replies.

"We need to find a safe way to get in touch with her," Rossi points.

"The window she texted about," Morgan says right away.

Garcia reports: "It opens to a backyard, but I can't find any access to it other than the coffee shop."

"Send me the blue prints."

"There they go. Find a way, boy wonder."

"Hotch, the mayor is expecting your call."

"Thanks, JJ."

Hotch takes a moment to review why he's suddenly annoyed at his team supporting Gillian so much, and why he doesn't. And he realizes what he's feeling is completely misplaced. He's annoyed at the perspective of seeing her again and interacting with her again. But he's not going to dig deeper into that right now. Not ever, actually.

Yet the bottom line is that even if no-one else is aware of it, he knows her much better than any of them. He really knows what she's capable of. So he knows they can count on her just like she's one of the team, and that she will follow his lead no matter what.

That's enough for him to get his head back in the game and call the mayor.


	5. Gillian Saga III Closure Act One 3-4

The police's blocked both of the coffee shop's corners to traffic, and now on that block there are only police cruisers, ambulances standing by and two SWAT trucks.

At the corner nearest to the coffee shop, a structural tent is being set. And there, Tanya is deploying three computers on a board table. By her side, Aldana is instructing Fred, the newest member of the TPU and a former military sniper with several tours in Iraq. Right after Fred heads to the building right across the street from the coffee shop, Aldana spots uniforms opening the barrier for a car to drive in.

She pats Tanya's arm and both of them look at the car wishing a blue police box would appear and snatch them to the next galaxy and the next century. But that only happens in England.

Because the man stepping out of the car is no other than King Gillian. 65, tall, slim, hardened face, he strides straight to the tent in his wealthy clear suit like he owns the place. And everybody makes way for him.

King Gillian stops by Aldana, not even actually glancing at her or Tanya, hands to his hips and blue eyes fixed on the coffee shop. He doesn't ask questions: he commands.

"Situation."

Aldana swallows. "About a dozen hostages, sir, both customers and employees. The subject has a shotgun and at least two more hand guns. Nobody's been hurt this far except… captain Cook."

"Come again? Cook is in there?"

"Yes, sir. We assume he was shot when he tried to prevent the incident. But he's fine, sir. Palmer shot his leg, no vital organs involved."

"Who's Palmer."

"The subject, sir. He's a federal fugitive. The agents working the case are on their way here."

"Bullshit. This scumbag is holding a dozen Boston citizens and he shot one of ours. We're handling this."

King Gillian waves at the Leader of the SWAT teams, who hurries to him. "Yessir?"

"Get your men ready, you're going in."

"Yessir."

He hurries away while Aldana musters her courage to object. "Sir, with all due respect, the subject is using the hostages as a human shield. We have a sniper getting in position across the street, so if you-"

"We? Who are you?"

"Sergeant Aldana Miles, with the TPU, sir."

"What are you doing here? This is no terrorist event."

"It's your daughter, sir… Reg is in the coffee shop too…"

King Gillian turns to scowl at her apologetic grimace. "You're saying my daughter is one of the hostages?"

Behind the barrier, the BAU gets out of the SUVs. Hotch is on the phone as he walks past the barrier and heads to the tent. As they follow him, Morgan spots King Gillian.

"That can't be good," he grunts.

Rossi hears him and shoots a questioning look at him. Morgan nods ahead. "That man talking to the SWAT agents? That's King Gillian."

"You mean Reg's father?" Jennifer asks.

Morgan nods grimacing. Then Reid points at Aldana, frantically waving at them from the tent to hurry over. They make their way through uniforms and paramedics, and SWAT agents getting ready for action. Hotch stays a few steps away, still on the phone.

"Thanks God you're here!" is Aldana's welcome. "Reg's father is about to send SWAT in right now!"

Hotch hangs up and approaches King Gillian, who's instructing the SWAT Leader:

"-and gas through the vents. Now go get your men in position."

"With all the hostages inside, sir?"

King Gillian's glare is enough to get the man in motion at Match 5. Then he turns to Hotch, looks him up and down and raises his eyebrows, expecting an explanation.

Knowing Regan Gillian, Hotch is perfectly aware of the kind of man he's facing, so he wears a proper scowl and gauges his voice to frost everything in a two-miles radio.

"Commander Gillian? I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner, with the FBI."

King Gillian narrows his eyes for a beat and nods. "I see. You're one of those profilers my daughter told me about."

"Yes, sir. Now you can tell your men to stand down. Phil Palmer is a federal fugitive, so we're handling this."

King Gillian is not used at all to be told what to do, and he doesn't exactly appreciate it. "You're not handling anything, agent. That son of a bitch has a dozen hostages and he's shot a Boston Police officer."

"Sir, we're aware of the situation, but I need to ask you to stand back and let us take care of things."

"Am I not speaking English? You feds had your chance to get him. And you failed. Now I'm in charge, so take your profilers around the corner, to your field office, and stay out of my way. I'm trying to save some lives here."

"No, you're not. You're about to get all the hostages killed. Your daughter and you colleague are in there, so you're too emotionally involved to make the right calls."

"Are you saying I can't do my job? We wouldn't be here if you'd done yours in the first place! So go back to your profiles, agent. I don't have time for this."

He tries to walk away and Hotch cuts his way. "Sir, don't make me have you removed from here. Talk to your mayor, he's aware of the situation and he'll confirm our authority, in case you need to be reminded of the proper chain of command."

Hotch looks around, spots the SWAT Leader and strides to him. "From now on, any order goes through me. Tell your men to stand down and wait for further instructions."

He notices the Leader glances past him, at King Gillian, for confirmation, and swallows his need to slap the man. Instead, he spins on his heels and strides to the tent, seeing King Gillian is on the phone.

The team notices right away he's pissed, but he shakes his head.

"How did it go?" Morgan asks.

"This was only the first round. Where are we?

"They haven't made contact yet," Rossi informs.

"Then you're on, Dave."

Hotch sees Aldana and Reid are studying the prints. Rossi turns to Tanya and nods, as Morgan, Jennifer and Hotch take earphones to listen to the call.


	6. Gillian Saga III Closure Act One 4-4

Inside the coffee shop, Phil sits at the counter, shotgun always ready, sipping at the coffee Gillian's fixed him. She's still behind the counter, trying to clearly state that she may be there and unarmed, and Phil may have the guns and make the calls, but she's not just another hostage. At Phil's feet, Cook is lucid enough to grunt and bull.

"You brainless punk, you have no idea who you're messing with."

Gillian is beginning to feel a growing need to punch him —more than any other day. Phil scornfully pokes his good leg with his foot.

"Touch me again and-"

"And what, old man?"

Gillian is a little surprised at the young man's cool, even when he crouches down by Cook and puts the barrel of his gun under Cook's jaw.

Cook glares at him and keeps going: "Don't make the mistake of thinking I'm afraid of a scumbag like you."

Phil cocks his gun. Gillian comes out from behind the counter. "Allow me, Phil."

He straightens up, still looking down at Cook. "Someone should teach your boss some manners, ma'am."

"Yeah, tell me about it…" she turns to one of the waitresses. "Get me a clean cloth."

The girl hurries to a table while Gillian kneels by Cook. Good. The man keeps calling her "ma'am" but he's okay with her calling him by his first name. And now he's allowing her to instruct the waitress.

Now comes the hard part: trying to talk some sense into Cook's stupid head. She leans closer to him to hiss: "Captain, shut your mouth or you're gonna get us all killed."

Such a waste of breath. Cook blushes out of anger at her words. "You shouldn't-!"

"Shut the hell up!" she snarls, right when the waitress brings a clean table cloth.

Then the phone rings. _About damned time_, Gillian thinks. Phil picks it with his carefree way: "Orlando's coffee shop. We're a little busy right now, call back in a couple of hours."

Before he can hang up, he hears Rossi speaking and stays on the line.

"Phil, this is agent Rossi with the FBI. I just wanted to make sure everybody is fine in there."

Phil smirks. "Hello, mister agent. Yes, we're just fine, we wouldn't we?"

Gillian holds back a sigh at the word _"agent"_. Morgan made it! He got the field office to take charge of the situation!

Rossi is wearing his white silk gloves for delicate situations. "I understand somebody got shot a while ago…"

"Yes, this annoying oldtimer trying to be a hero."

"We can take care of him for you, if you would allow us."

"Look, agent, I'm just waiting for a friend here, so the sooner he comes, the sooner all of this will be over."

"Can you tell me the name of the person you're waiting for?"

"Robert Strafford, he owns the place."

Gillian remembers then. She heard him say something about calling one Strafford, right after shooting Cook.

Hotch glances at Tanya, who's already typing, searching the name. Rossi goes on.

"Ok, we can look for him. But you must understand that before we can let you meet him, I need something to work on, Phil."

"Oh, I see, you want me to show some good will, right? Well, bad news, agent, I just ran out of good will for good."

"We can work this out together, Phil. Let captain Cook out and we can talk about your request."

"There's nothing to work out here, agent Rossi! Send Robert Strafford in or I'll start shooting people!" Phil yells, and he roughly hangs up.

END OF ACT ONE


	7. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Two 1-5

Act two

Phil's heavily breathing, toying with the trigger of the gun, but all Gillian can think about is what he just said: _"Agent Rossi". _Is it possible? Can the BAU be right out the door and handling the situation? Can she be this lucky?

She needs to know. So she shoots a warning glare at Cook and straightens up.

"Phil…"

"What!"

The young man's lost all of his pretended carefree cool, pacing and dangerously playing with his gun.

"Hey, easy, it's me…"

For some reason, it works. He stops pacing and Gillian notices he's actually about to apologize for being rude. It was completely spontaneous, and it feeds her curiosity. Who is he? How did he get to this situation?

Later. If the BAU is really out there, they will have all the answers she needs.

Gillian goes to stand only one step away from him, so only he hears her: "Phil, did you just say agent Rossi?"

Phil nods scowling. "Yeah, some damned fed!"

Gillian wants to hug him and kiss him. She allows herself a tight smile. "Look, Phil, I know agent Rossi, and he's not just some fed. He's a good man, and he will do everything in his power to help us out."

"Yeah! Bet he will!"

Gillian's smile widens a little. It feels so damn great, being able to feel so confident about others. It's been so long since she last trusted somebody like this. Actually since she worked Homicides with good old Banks as her partner.

She glances at the shop window, like inviting Phil to do the same. He does.

"Did you see SWAT lurking around a while ago? Well, agent Rossi is the one keeping the big guns away right now. He really wants to help you, but you gotta help him in return."

"What d'you mean?"

"Look at us, Phil. You have fifteen, he's got squat. You should cut'im some slack. He's good but he ain't no magician."

Cook grunts behind Gillian, she and Phil turn to scowl at him. One of the waitresses looks up at them, troubled. "He keeps bleeding!"

Bleeding or not, Cook takes the chance to bull some more: "Jerk! You're going down for this!"

Gillian clenches her teeth as Phil goes to Cook. Stupid old man, always screwing up.

Phil leans to him. "Sure I am. The question is if you're coming down with me."

The phone rings again. Phil picks it annoyed. "What! Are you sending Strafford in?"

Rossi tries to speak: "Phil, listen to-" But Phil hangs up again.

Gillian softly touches Phil's arm. He stiffens at her touch and glares up at her. Cook is grunting threats again, but she gets Phil distracted from him.

She decides to play the plain-to-see card. "Phil, please, send my boss out. Trust me, you don't wanna keep him around. It'll work both ways: you give agent Rossi something and we get rid of him."

She's saying nothing but the truth and Phil can see it. The phone rings again and he nods at Gillian to pick it. She doesn't make him beg.

"Agent Rossi…?"

Out on the street, at the tent, the team looks up, surprised. Rossi controls his relief.

"Regan, you ok?"

Gillian feels a warm wave of relief washing over her at the bare sound of his voice.

"Yes, yes, we just need a minute here." She looks up at Phil raising her eyebrows: so? He nods. She speaks holding up his eyes. "Agent Rossi, please send a medic. Captain Cook is going out."

"Only one medic!" says Phil, raising his voice for Rossi to hear him.

"Right away," Rossi quickly says.

Gillian hangs up smiling at Phil. "You're doing the right thing."

"They better don't try any trick, ma'am."

"They won't. You can trust them."


	8. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Two 2-5

Jennifer is already coming to the tent with an EMT, instructing him.

Hotch turns to Morgan: "You and JJ go with him and try to make sure the rest of the hostages are ok."

While Morgan joins Jennifer and the EMT, Reid calls Hotch to show him the blueprints.

"I've found a way to get to that backyard. But we're gonna need a ladder."

"Good. Sergeant Miles, can you get us a ladder?"

"Hell yes" Alana replies, hurrying away.

Not right-away, never yes-sir. She's Gillian's agent. Hotch kicks it out to nod at Reid.

"We're waiting for Morgan and JJ to extract Cook."

Tanya turns to him. "Agent Hotchner, Penelope has something on Robert Strafford."

"I'll call her in a moment." —at least one of them with proper manners.

"Yes, sir."

Hotch trades a look with Rossi and nods. Rossi calls the coffee shop.

Phil picks, watching how Gillian is tightly tying a table cloth around Cook's leg.

"We're ready when you are, Phil."

"No guns, no tricks, agent."

"Two of our agents are going with the medic, but they're not armed."

"Good. We'll be at the door in a minute."

Phil hangs up and nods at Gillian and the waitress. They pull Cook up on his good leg and help him to slowly hop to the door. Phil comes behind them and puts his gun to the waitress's head.

Gillian sees her shriek in logic fear and softly says: "Phil, use me as a shield."

She feels the barrel resting against her head and breathes in, forcing herself to look straight ahead. _To protect and to serve_. Stupid motto. Why does she have to actually believe in it?

Morgan and Jennifer are already at the door flanking the EMT when the waitress and Gillian bring Cook out. Morgan and the paramedic hurry to hold him up.

Then Phil puts his arm across Gillian's chest and the gun to her temple. She can sense he's nervous, so she uses that to whisper in his ear: "Let'er go too, please." And to the others' utter surprise, Phil pushes the waitress out before dragging her back in and lock the door.

Gillian gets only to trade a quick glance with Jennifer, but slowly blinks, to let her know she's fine. And she sees Jennifer nod: she got it.

At the tent, everybody exhales. Aldana is coming back, bringing two uniforms to carry a long ladder. Hotch signals her to stop and keep the ladder out of sight from the coffee shop. Then he goes to her. "Miles, text lieutenant Gillian and tell her to be in the rest room within ten minutes."

Morgan and Jennifer are coming back to the tent, still surprised at what just happened. "Reg got the waitress out!" Morgan is saying.

"She talked him into it right before our eyes!" Jennifer adds.

Tanya flashes a proud bragging grin at them. "Well, that's my boss for you, guys."

Rossi nods smiling. "Yeah, that a girl…"

Hotch calls everybody back to business. "Morgan, you, JJ and Miles are getting to the backyard with that ladder and wait for lieutenant Gillian by the window." He gives Jennifer one of their radios. "We need her to wear this and keep it hidden and open, so we can hear what's going on inside and give her information she can use."

That's a whole good deal of weight he's about to put on Gillian's shoulders, officially making her their inside man, but nobody even thinks about question it.

"I already texted her," Aldana tips.

"Good. Now go!"

The three of them hurry away, with the uniforms carrying the ladder. King Gillian comes marching on to the tent and Rossi glances at Hotch to let him handle the man.

"What was that? We have fifteen hostages and you get out only two?"

"Yes, commander, and it's a good sign. If you let us do our job, we can solve this in a peaceful way."

"Peaceful!" King Gillian scorns. "Have you seen Cook's leg? He's having a limp for the rest of his life!"

_Like he gives a damn about Cook_, Hotch thinks, remembering Woods' case and Cook's open opposition to King Gillian's TPU project.

"And you didn't even get my daughter free! Just some waitress!"

"Commander, that waitress's life is just as valuable for herself and her loved ones as your daughter's for all of us. And lieutenant Gillian is being a great help inside."

King Gillian's face is the perfect image of contempt. "And I'm sure she's very pleased to work for you. I've heard the rumors. First you brain-washed her with your profiling shit, and now you're trying to steal her to your ranks!"

"We don't have time for this," Hotch snarls, and he dodges Rossi to stand very close to King. "Sir, I'm not repeating myself. Stand back or leave, your choice, but I won't have you interfering with our work."

For an endless awkward moment, Hotch and King Gillian trade a laser-beam glare. Until King Gillian scornfully scoffs, turning his face away.

Hotch turns his back to him and goes back to Tanya. "Did Garcia send you the files?"

"Yes, she's waiting for you call."

"What about your sniper?"

"Fred's in position, but he won't have a clear shot while the hostages are at the window."

Hotch glances up at Rossi. "That's our next step," then, to Tanya: "Do we know who Robert Strafford is?"

"According to Penelope, he's Palmer's father."

Hotch goes to stand by Rossi, who lowers his voice to say: "We need to complete his profile to know how to proceed."

"I know."

"And Reg's father will back for more soon."

"I know."

Rossi notices Hotch is more pissed off about it than he should, but he doesn't say a word about it.

Hotch scowls up across the street, at the coffee shop, forcing himself to cool it off.

Yes, he's pissed off. He's actually angry at King Gillian, and wishing he could've told him what he really meant. Because what triggered his reaction wasn't the need of reminding King Gillian who was in charge, but his contempt when he spoke about his daughter. Hotch didn't even care about the expectable "profiling bullshit" part. He was outraged at the arrogant lack of love for her he's just displayed.

Recalling her crushed under a concrete column, how she was only thinking about sending him away and the bombs out in the city, Hotch didn't want to tell him "stand back or leave". He really wanted to say "you don't deserve the respect from such a brave woman as your daughter". And now he's sort of angry at Gillian too, for wasting her whole life going over her head to try to please such an unworthy man.


	9. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Two 3-5

In the coffee shop, Phil is pacing again, while Gillian is trying to clean Cook's blood off her hands with a cloth.

"They're not calling him, right?" Phil grunts out of the blue.

Gillian doesn't quite understand why, but he's taken her as a source of answers, and he trusts her to a certain degree. She does understand that it's partly due to her being plain and honest with him. This far, she hasn't lied to him, and he sees it.

But also this far, she didn't need to say anything that could particularly upset him. And if she's to stay honest, that's about to change. So she keeps her voice gentle and reasonable. "Yes, they are, but they cannot send him in unless they're positive it's safe for him."

"Safe!" Phil's voice thunders the place, making the hostages shriek. "That son of a bitch doesn't deserve safe!"

Gillian doesn't answer. Because antagonizing can be dangerous, and because she doesn't know Phil's history with this Strafford. She can see the stress of the situation is slowly taking its toll on the young man, and she's in complete darkness about his motivations or his goals.

She's seriously realizing she needs to find a way to isolate herself for a few minutes to actually think, and stop acting out of pure instinct in such a delicate situation. Because she knows she can trust her guts, and they're actually helping her to keep the situation in some sort of fragile control —she got Cook and the girl out, Phil's not shooting anybody and allows himself to listen to her. But it will only work so far. She's in no position of actually solving the hostages situation like this. Dammit. If she could only talk to Morgan or any of them. They would tell her what to do.

Then she feels her phone buzzing in her pocket and conceals a sigh of relief. That's the cavalry to the rescue, no doubt about it. Thanks God.

"Phil, mind if I go to the ladies to wash my hands?" she says in the most casual way she can manage.

She shows her hands still full of blood. Phil pauses to look at her straight in the eyes.

"No tricks, ma'am."

"No tricks. I'll be right back."

"Go."

Gillian heads to the rest-room thinking about that "no tricks" he keeps saying. Just now he tried to make it sound like a serious warning, but she can't help feeling it's actually a deeper request.

Like he's begging her to play fair. How the hell did he come to-? Finding Jennifer in the rest-room abruptly interrupts her ramblings. This is way better than a text. But there's no time to tell her how happy and relieved she is at seeing her.

Gillian hurries to lock the door and open the faucet. "JJ! What're you doing here?" she whispers.

Jennifer shows her the radio. "We need you to put this on."

"Help me, I need to go back out with my hands clean."

While she washes her hands, Jennifer places the radio beneath her clothes, hides the earphone under her hair and the microphone on the inside of the chest of her shirt. And as she does it, she quickly fills Gillian in: "Palmer is on a spree, Reg. He's killed six people in the last three days."

"Why is he here?"

"We still don't have the full picture, but Penelope is about to brief us about it. You will listen to her as well."

Gillian turns to Jennifer, all of the stress and fear suddenly taking hold of her. "What now, JJ? He's losing it, and I'm not sure-!"

Jennifer notices her hands are slightly shaking, so she gives Gillian a quick, tight hug, whispering in her ear: "It's ok, Reg. You're doing great, believe me. And we're here with you, ok?"

They hear steps approaching and Jennifer steps quickly back. She flashes an encouraging smile at Gillian and hurries to the window.

Gillian unlocks the door and pushes it open still shaking the water off her hands. Phil is right outside and scans the room behind her.

Gillian wears her cool smirk to say something that is strictly true, not to lie to him: "No secret lovers in here, Phil, I promise."

Phil smirks back and waves at her to go back to the shop. He closes the door still looking in, suspicious.


	10. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Two 4-5

The microphone picks her words and carries them across the street, to deliver them into Hotch's earphone. And hearing her again comes as some kind of surprise, because it feels like it's been only a few days since he last heard her smartass tone, and it automatically annoys him. Which is good, since he's going to push her hard. And he knows she will deliver, but it'll be easier if he's not distracted by her frail human side. So he welcomes his own reaction at her words and wishes she'll keep her act up.

He lowers his voice to talk to her and his words catch her fixing Phil another coffee. And she knows she's lucky to be with her back turned to Phil, or her face would give away the radio. Because she's taken completely aback by him.

She realizes right away how stupid her reaction is: the BAU is there, where else would he be? And yet, until that very moment, it hasn't even crossed her mind that Hotch is out there too.

She's so used to him being always away in New York, when she meets the rest of the team in DC, that he's become some kind of nominal figure, a character the others name when they tell her about some case. Which is more than fine for her.

And now, all of a sudden, without any previous warning, he's there, talking to her, only a few yards away. Forcing all the reality of his existence onto her. The cold distant man with his piercing look and his calm ways oozing confidence and efficiency. The stupid bold caring man who risked his life to help her and kicked her ass back from the death. The man she needs far and away because he turns Regan Daredevil Gillian into a stupid puppy following his every lead, and he reads through and through all she tries to hide, and makes her want to hug him, when he gets embarrassed at a very simple compliment from her and breaks his every canon to gift her with a joke and a smile.

All of this swells upon her in a split second, and then his very words come to the rescue and capture her attention. "Lieutenant, it's Hotch. Try to find a way to be left alone for a few minutes, so you can hear what Garcia has for us."

And she can feel the puppy ears raising at his command and the puppy tail lashing the puppy's flanks. She really hates this man's guts for having that instant effect on her. So she's actually smiling when she turns around to give Phil his coffee.

Then she glances at the hostages standing before the window shop and says: "Hey, Phil, look at that old man. His legs are shaking. Can I take his place to let him take a break?"

"What about Strafford?" grunts Phil.

"I'm sure they're looking for him. Agent Rossi will call as soon as they find him."

Phil shakes his head, upset. "That son of a bitch must be hiding under his bed."

"Don't worry, they'll find him. They're good at it. So, can I?"

Phil nods, absentminded, as he starts pacing again.

Hotch looks up and the others follow his eyes. And they see Gillian helping a man in his sixties to a chair and taking his place.

She spots them across the street and manages a smile. Rossi and Reid wave at her as Hotch turns to Tanya. "Call Garcia." —I'm not waving or smiling at you, Gillian. It's a damned hostages crisis. And deep down he's thanking her for keeping her act up and him annoyed.

Jennifer, Morgan and Aldana come sneaking across the street, from the building next door to the coffee shop, right in time.

Garcia tells her story with a sad grimace.

"Be ready for a sad story, my friends, for this is one. Phil's mother, Lisa Palmer, divorced drunk abusive Robert Strafford three months before Collin was born. But she died only two years later, and the brothers ended up in despicable Strafford's custody. They stayed with him for four years, until their teachers got Social Services to check on the boys. Both of them had signs of severe abuse and constant physical punishment. So Social Services placed them in foster care, with the Cronwells…"

The team listens to her while Jennifer shares her tablet with Aldana to see the files, Morgan browses them with Tanya, Reid takes notes, Rossi and Hotch keep their eyes on the coffee shop, where Gillian stands as a part of the human shield, keeping her eyes down. Behind her, Phil is sitting at a stool by the counter, eyes closed, troubled and exhausted.

"They ran away from the Cronwells three years later. The police found them sleeping on the street two days later. Looks like dear mister Cronwell would beat Phil unconscious on daily basis. And he sexually abused little Collin. More than once. So Social Services found another foster home for them. With the Mastersons. And things were good there for them. Until their foster mom died. Then nice mister Masterson took them both out of school and forced them to work at his gas station. When they were not slave-laboring, he'd keep them locked up in the store backroom."

Behind the police barrier, the TV Crews start to lurk around, but the uniforms keep them away.

"They lived like that until Phil became of age. Then he left, got a job and appealed for Collin's full custody. And then they lived together and finally a little happy. That is, until those gang members attacked them and stabbed Collin to death. And that's it. So now I'm gonna watch kitten videos for a whole week, to pretend no child is ever put through so much pain. Garcia out."

Garcia disconnects and all of them stay in silence, digesting the information.


	11. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Two 5-5

Hotch steps slowly away from the tent toward the coffee shop across the street. Gillian spots him at the same time he speaks to her: "Gillian, listen to me. Don't let this cloud your mind."

He pauses until he sees her nod, then he speaks calm and slow, looking straight at Gillian. And even from across the street, he feels the intense stare of those blue eyes fixed on him. And he stares back, erasing the world around them with nothing but his words. It's him, talking to her.

"He's an injustice's collector, like many school shooters. Now his younger brother is dead, he feels he has no more reason to live and he's taking it back at those who abused him and his brother, daring anybody to stand in his way and stop him."

She lets him act on her, calm her down and focus her mind. And it's scary and it's wonderful at the same time. The way he makes her face this nightmare, in which a boy mistreated to no end turned into a psychotic killer out of control. Right as it is. And exactly as she needs him to.

"He's suicidal, Gillian, and Strafford is his end game. You know what it means: he's not planning on leaving here alive, because he feels he doesn't have anything left to live for."

It's physical. He's grabbing her arms as she opens up her eyes and sees. Both of them feel it with a dreadful clarity, still looking straight into each other's eyes.

"We have to find a way to get the hostages out alive, Gillian, and we need your help to do it. Can we count on you?"

Hotch feels the chill running down his spine when she breathes deep and slightly nods. He can see how she's literally fed on him to get the perspective she was lacking, and now she's pushing him away.

She's gearing up for battle, just like he wanted her to. And she's a front-line fighter, just like him. But all of a sudden she's alone, all the way across the street, locked up in the coffee-shop with Palmer. And he may be the only one knowing how far she dares to go, and he's outside.

Then Reid notices King Gillian hanging up his phone and talking to the SWAT Leader, and Morgan points at a group of SWAT agents readying their weapons again.

They see King Gillian stride past the tent to Hotch and Reid steps back to whisper in his radio: "Reg, it's Spencer…"

Gillian sees her father striding to Hotch and the SWAT teams gathering behind the tent. And she knows too damn well that look in her father's eyes. Then she hears Reid.

"Phil!" she calls out loud.

She spins around and finds Phil coming to her side.

Hotch is deploying all of his heavy weaponry of threats and intimidation to stop King Gillian, who's yelling to try to shut him up, when the coffee shop's door opens.

Both men drop their alpha male quarrel when Phil shows up, his arm across Gillian's chest and his gun to her temple.

At the tent, everybody takes a step forward and holds their breath.

Phil faces King Gillian cocking his gun and Gillian shuts her eyes, waiting for the shot.

END OF ACT TWO


	12. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Three 1-4

Act three

"You, old man!" Phil shouts. "This is your daughter, right?"

"You filthy sack of shit! Take your hands off her!" King Gillian yells.

He tries to step up and Hotch stops him.

"Shut up and listen, old man! If you don't want your baby girl's brains splashed on the street, you take those commandos away right now!"

King Gillian tries to push Hotch aside and Hotch blocks his arms.

While Phil drags Gillian back inside the shop, Morgan sprints to help Hotch restraining King Gillian and they force him back to the tent.

But at the very moment Phil is dragging her in, Rossi notices Gillian winks their way. He spins around and finds Reid concealing a smile.

"Did you just tip her off about them?" he scolds Reid. "And you didn't tell _us_?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

Jennifer punches Reid's arm, annoyed. "Spence! I thought he was shooting her!"

Morgan passes by holding King Gillian by his arm, escorting him to the barrier. Hotch follows to take care of the SWAT Leader, and his cold rage leaves the poor man pale in under a minute. Then he goes back to the tent snorting.

It took him a whole second to understand Gillian's look when Palmer pushed her out and cocked his gun to her head. But for that horrible second, he thought Palmer was really going to shoot her death right before his eyes. And he's still swallowing his heart back down. Looks like he's forgotten how far she actually dares to go.

Jennifer is also angry about what just happened. "Hotch, why aren't we using the backyard window?"

"We will, JJ, but not while there are still so many hostages inside."

Morgan comes back form dispatching King Gillian and Aldana is with him. "Strafford is in custody," she informs.

"Dave, you there?"

All of them look up at the coffee shop when they hear Gillian on the radio.

She's locked up in the rest-room, back against the wall, heavily breathing. Reid tipped her in time, Phil's threat worked, and Hotch neutralized her father enough, but her knees are still shaking.

Asking a suicidal killer to point a gun to your head, in order to force you megalomaniac father to send two SWAT groups back is way easier said than done.

She blessed the comforting, warm sound of Rossi's voice saying in her ear: "Yes, Reg, I'm right here."

"Dave, please, help me out here."

The team trades a concerned look at hearing her so upset, but Rossi keeps looking straight ahead, like he can see her in there.

"You're doing great. You've built a good rapport with him, don't you lose it. You're not using negatives sentences and humanizing the hostages for him. And that's exactly what you have to do, so keep doing it."

"Okay…"

"Now you know his background, make his profile work for you, Reg. Neutralize any reason for him to pull the trigger. Stall him so we can do our part."

"You make it sound so easy!"

"I know it's not, but it's just what you've been doing this far. It's working, so don't change it. Right now he can't tell anymore right from wrong. He's not a natural killer and his conscious is trying to kick in. You're making it possible, because you're somehow standing on his side. That's why he's turning to you for answers. But he's confused, and that makes him unstable and dangerous."

"So?"

"He can tell you want to help him, but you're in there with him. Show him we too want to help him. We're outside and we want to help him. If you cannot make him trust us, Reg, no-one else can."

Gillian lets out a shaky sigh and Hotch automatically breathes in, cursing the whole situation.

"My father?"

"Licking his wounds."

"He's coming back."

"We know, we'll be ready."

Gillian wipes her eyes taking a deep breath and mutters. "Thanks, Dave…"

"Anytime, kiddo."

All of them sigh and shake their heads, chewing their impotence at hearing her like that. Jennifer shots a serious look at Hotch, demanding him action.

Hotch looks up at Rossi picking his earphone. "Call him, Dave."

"Let's give her a minute to go back with him."


	13. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Three 2-4

Gillian is again behind the counter when the phone rings. While he takes the call, she starts fixing coffee to deliver to the hostages.

"Phil, it's agent Rossi. Everything ok in there?"

"You tell me, agent. Are the big guns out of the picture?

"Yes, for now."

"Then are you calling to tell me you found Strafford?"

"Yes, we've found him."

"So why isn't he here? Send'im in and I can let these people go."

The team trades a look. The stress of the situation is draining him, he wants it to end. It's his most vulnerable moment, and also the most dangerous.

"Listen, Phil, first we need to secure the people you're keeping hostage."

"You want me to let them go, so your commandos can storm in and shoot me down like a dog."

"How about setting free a few more?"

"And you're bringing Strafford?"

"Let's go step by step, Phil. Let go some hostages and we can talk again about your father."

That single word makes Phil snap. "HE'S NOT MY FATHER!" he yells, and hangs up.

For a dreadful moment, they expect to hear shots from the coffee shop, but nothing happens. Then, out of the blue, needing to use their energy on something concrete, they start debating what alternatives Palmer's profile gives them.

Until Hotch takes a hand to his earphone and turns to Tanya to say: "Isolate Gillian, listening to everything we say is getting in her way. Keep her audio linked only to my radio, unless I tell you otherwise."

Gillian is at the coffee machine and smirks. Damned control freak. Now she can only hear _him_.

"Ma'am!" Phil calls.

She turns to him right away and he nods at the phone. "Your friends want me to let more people go. But if I do, I'm sure they're breaking in. They wouldn't care about a few casualties."

"They care, Phil. They don't want anybody to die today."

"Sure, cos they give a damn about me."

"They do. You don't know because you don't know them. So come with me, I want you to meet them."

At the tent, the team trades puzzled looks. What's Gillian up to now?

Then they see her at the shop window, Phil behind her pointing his gun at her head. She looks straight at the tent and all of them pretend to be doing something not to give away they're listening.

"Ok, they cannot hear us, so I'm gonna tell you about each of them, Phil. Ladies first. See the blond girl? Her name is JJ, and she's an amazing woman. She's the only blonde on earth with a brain, trust me, and she can also kick both your ass and mine in a row any given day. And she's got this lovely child called Henry we all like to spoil like hell."

Jennifer hides a smile. Hotch can see they're all pending of every of her words, and her warm voice tells him the bond between her and his team is much stronger than he thought.

"Now JJ's son and my own son are total diehard fans of the skinny guy by JJ, dr. Reid. He's a frigging genius with a heart of gold, and trust me, he can make a rock empathize and relate. I'm trying to match him with Tanya, the girl sitting at the computers —she's not part of their team, she works with me. But they're both playing tough. Wasted youth."

Reid and Tanya look away from each other, embarrassed. Hotch notices that the hostages by the shop window are looking at the team as well, listening to what Gillian says. What a surprise, she got to them.

"Who's the black guy? The one that took your old man away," Phil asks.

The team thinks the same at the same time: she's got him. Now he's asking about them. He wants to know more. He desperately wants to relate and trust.

"That's always hot Morgan. You can bet all the female uniforms in a mile radio have already given him their numbers. That's how hot he is. I totally love him and I'm proud to call'im my friend. You would like him, Phil. You see him over there so cool, but he had a very hard childhood, you know? And he fought all his way up to the FBI out of his own steam to be here now, catching the bad guys."

Hotch conceals a grimace at her last words.

Phil scoffs, bitter. "You mean catching me."

"No. All of them are trying to find us a way out of here alive, Phil. Why do you think they're still keeping the police away?"

Morgan and Reid frown at Hotch. Plot twist? Gillian just turned her colleagues into the bad guys. And for some reason it works, and she's got Phil's attention again.

"Which one is Rossi?" he asks.

"He's the gentleman by the table. He's such a brilliant and kind man. And I'm gonna tell you a secret: I hate being too old to be his daughter, cos I love how he's just the perfect balance between hothead and wise. He's a writer too, so he has this way of telling things. If you could only hear him telling a story, any story. I can spend hours just listening to him…"

Rossi glances down and Hotch notices what purses his lips is not a smile, it's a sad gesture. He knows about Gillian's father, he's known for a while.

"And who's the stiffened guy who was fighting your old man?"

Hotch doesn't even blink, eyes fixed on his tablet. He's not sure he wants to hear this, but he can bet his badge that the rest of the team is dying to. He can hear her smile in her voice.

"Oh, that's agent Hotchner, the boss. You don't wanna mess with him. See his scowl? Well, that scowl is what keeps the world spinning, Phil. That and the big heart behind the scowl."

Phil and Gillian step back and out of sight, but they still hear her say: "So you tryna do what they tell us to, Phil, and it'll be alright."

"You trust them."

"With my life."

Hotch glances up at Rossi. "Call him, Dave, we need to get those people out."

"Let's just give them a minute," Rossi softly says.

Hotch sees Rossi's smirk and scowls. Rossi smirks wider.

He's about to insist when they hear Gillian saying to Palmer: "You should let these people go, Phil. I can stay here with you."

"Yeah, sure you will."

"You have my word. No tricks. I'm not leaving here without you."

Rossi calls and Phil shoots a hesitating look at the phone. Hotch leans to the screen showing the security feed from the coffee shop. He sees Gillian resting her hand on Phil's arm with a quick, gentle pressure, and her warm smile.

"Talk to them, Phil."

And of course Phil picks the call.


	14. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Three 3-4

While Rossi talks to him, Hotch wonders again if anybody else heard the deep affection in Gillian's words. Now he thinks they did, but they weren't surprised because they already know, and it's a mutual affection. He's blocked her out of his mind in such an effective way, that he ends up being the only one who didn't expect it.

Rossi hangs up and grimaces at him. "He's calling back," is all he says.

Then they hear Gillian saying: "Are they asking you to let the women go, Phil?"

Palmer sounds upset. "Yeah, but they wouldn't even bring Strafford anywhere near here! Can't they see that's all I want?"

"They know, Phil," she gently replies. "But they still can't. Yet you can help them. Do as agent Rossi says, let the women go… Please."

"You're in a hurry to go with your friends, huh?" he snarls.

All of them wait for her answer, and she's chiding him: "I already told you I was staying, didn't I? You can let all of them go, for all that matters, and I would still stay with you."

"Nice played, ma'am. Not all."

Reid hurries to alert uniforms and paramedics as the phone on Tanya's table rings. Rossi picks it at once.

"I'm letting the women go, as you asked. But bring Strafford, agent Rossi. Cos nobody else is walking out of here until I see him."

Phil hangs up upset and nods at Gillian. She signals at the six women and the little girl to go to the door. Phil stops her with the barrel of his shotgun. "Only women, ma'am. No tricks."

She fakes an annoyed huff. "Jeez, boy. You just go fix me a latte, would ya."

Gillian gathers the women and opens the door for them, hurrying them out to the team, that comes to meet them with uniforms and paramedics, to lead them to the corner. When she's locking the door closed, she sees Hotch taking a call and she hears him on the radio as he says on the phone: "Mayor Travis…?"

Gillian frowns and watches him stepping away from the tent as he speaks on the phone. Phil calls from the counter: "Your latte, ma'am!"


	15. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Three 4-4

Hotch listens to the mayor scowling deeper and deeper. Have they all gone mad in this city?

"I understand, sir, but we just got seven more hostages released- That's exactly why commander Gillian can't- Sir, I cannot jeopardize the remaining hostages by-"

Hotch scowls down at his phone: did the mayor just hang up on him? Hotch dials a number hissing on the radio: "We better hurry, Gillian. Your father's pushing it." Then he says on the phone: "This is SSA Hotchner with the BAU, I need to speak to the Director…"

Inside the coffee shop, Phil is pacing while Gillian is no longer smiling. She didn't need to hear the whole conversation, she's heard Hotch's answers and they're more than enough for her to understand.

For a change, her father's turned it all into a matter of pride and reputation. This is not about the hostages or catching Phil anymore. King Gillian has a speck of dust in his shoe and it's called agent Hotchner, who dared to force him to step back and down in front of half the department. No-one does something like that to King Gillian. King Gillian brooms the specks away, and he doesn't give a flying damn about what else he brooms along... But even if it's also his only child's life?

"They're not letting me see him!" Phil growls, more and more upset.

And Gillian is so lost in her thoughts that she answers without thinking: "They know you wanna kill'im, Phil."

"Sure I wanna kill'im! That son of a bitch ruined our lives! He deserves to die for what he did to my brother and me!"

She turns to him annoyed. What her father may be doing out there just washed out all of her empathy and patience and even any healthy survival instinct.

"And then what?" she snaps. "I bet his father beat him senseless every frigging day! So he beat you and your brother! So you kill him! And in the process you get us all killed as well! Then when the hell does this ever end, Phil!?"

Reid and Rossi frown at hearing her, and Hotch hurries to finish his call.

"Easy, kiddo," Rossi whispers on the radio. "Don't push him."

But it's too late. She's just had enough of all of these blind men with their guns and their prides and their sick need to hurt everybody around them for whatever reason they argue. And expecting her to fix it.

Her voice oozes a bitterness that takes Phil and the team completely aback.

"Look, boy, right now my father is squeezing the mayor's guts to put'im in charge again. And what d'you think is gonna happen then? D' you think our little ruse's gonna work again? Are you that damn naïve? Soon he's gonna be right out that door with his precious SWAT. And then you're gonna die! And I'm gonna die! And these poor guys are gonna die! And you know what's the worst thing about it? Right tonight, your father and my father are gonna share a beer over our graves, congratulating each other for being such tough men!"

At the tent, all of them turn to Hotch, who doesn't even get a chance to try to say a single word before King Gillian shows by him with a cocky smirk.

"Good job, agents, that'll be it. Boston PD is taking care of the situation from here," he says, gloating at every single word.

Hotch walks a few steps away to say on the radio: "Gillian, they're going in. Take as many as you can through the window."

He turns around and finds King Gillian trying his best to win a good blow to his arrogant face. "And who are you talking to now? You already heard the mayor."

"I'm warning your daughter that you're about to kill her," Hotch snarls, and brushes past him back to the tent. "We're going through the backyard," he says —and I hope we're in time to save her them.

All of them hurry after him across the street.

Gillian gawks up at Phil. "They're coming, Phil!"

"What?" he grunts, still angry at what she told him a minute ago.

She grabs his arm and drags him to the shop window.

The BAU is not at the tent anymore.

And the SWAT agents are spreading all over the street, taking positions with their assault rifles and their gas masks on.

**END OF ACT THREE**


	16. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Four 1-6

Act four

The hostages before the window turn to Phil in tears. He pushes Gillian against the window, coking the gun to her head.

Then King Gillian shows across the street with a speaker.

And she knows that look. And at the same time she can't believe her eyes. But she knows. And while she's trying to overcome the shock of realizing what her father is about to do, she hears herself yell: "He's gonna do it, Phil! Let these men go! Please! Keep me and let them go!"

"NO!" Phil thunders.

Because he's confused and hurt and he doesn't know King Gillian like she does. And because he thinks death will be actually a liberation.

Right then the phone rings and Phil turns around, hesitating, cos he's just seen the empty tent.

Then Gillian clings to that part of her that's still capable of acting and turns to the hostages at the window: "Ladies room! Lock the door! GO!"

Phil spins around and tries to stop them, Gillian cuts his way. He roughly pushes her aside, but the hostages are already in the ladies room and locking the door.

The team is jumping from the ladder to the backyard and Morgan helps Jennifer into the rest-room through the window.

Then they hear Phil yelling, out of his mind: "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"

And they freeze at hearing Gillian answering: "I saved their lives, Phil! I'm a damned cop, remember? That's my job!" —What the hell is she doing still there?

"YOU STUPID BITCH!"

Morgan is already by Jennifer, who desperately shakes her head: Gillian is not here, she really is still in the shop with Palmer. They signal the hostages to hurry out the window one by one.

Outside, Hotch and Rossi help them down the window and Reid helps them up the ladder, to where Aldana is waiting for them at an upper window.

Across the street, King Gillian takes the speaker to his mouth, and his voice echoes all over: "This is commander Gillian with Boston PD. You have three minutes to turn yourself in, son."

Both of them standing in the middle of the shop, Phil points his gun at Gillian's head.

"YOU LIED! WE SAID NO TRICKS!"

She looks straight into his eyes, trying not to think about her father across the street, so damned arrogant, so despicably selfish. Her dad, her unchallenged sole hero, whose smile always meant the world for her, whose compliments she cherished so much more than any of her many decorations and commendations.

The situation is so overwhelming that she cannot even get mad.

So she speaks in her usual plain way: "I didn't lie to you, Phil. I'm still here, right? And I'm not leaving here without you."

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!"

Phil cocks his gun and Gillian steps up until the barrel rests against her forehead.

"Then shoot me for trying to help."

_Yes, please shoot me. Else my father's gonna order his men to do it. Because the son of a bitch won't get his hands dirty with my blood. So please. You do it. _

Hotch can almost hear her thinking it, like she's actually saying it out loud. And there it is again, the hideous cold burn of fear in her chest. Like a while ago on the street. Or when she didn't have a pulse back in the blasted building, months ago.

"SHUT UP!" Phil hits Gillian with the butt of his gun.

All the team shrieks at the sound, and Hotch growls like Phil's hit him. He cannot tell what's getting to him the worse: the danger Gillian is in or the pain pushing her to the edge of trying to get Palmer to kill her.

So Hotch roughly pulls the last man out and climbs in.

Morgan is noiselessly opening the door when two gas grenades fall into the shop through the vents and, across the street, King Gillian nods at the SWAT Leader.


	17. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Four 2-6

Then it all happens at the same time:

Morgan keeps Jennifer back to protect her from the gas.

The SWAT agents open heavy fire, shattering the shop window, and keep shooting all over the shop filled with gas.

Gillian grabs Phil's hand and tries to pull him to the rest-room.

Phil let's go, turning to face the SWAT agents.

And Hotch pushes Morgan and Jennifer out of the way to storm in.

He gets to round Gillian's waist from behind right when she's trying to reach Phil's hand, crying out his name.

Hotch drags her back as she desperately struggles to get rid of his iron grip.

"NO! LET ME GO! PHIL!"

But Hotch forces her to duck and stay down, while bullets fly in all directions, shattering the wall boards inches away from them. Yet Gillian keeps fighting him.

"LET GO! THEY'RE KILLING HIM!"

Morgan manages it to get to Hotch and helps him to force Gillian into the ladies room, where Hotch lets go of her to lock the door.

Jennifer fights back her tears seeing how Gillian roughly pushes Morgan away and runs to the door. But Hotch is standing right before it, she cannot push him aside. And behind the door, SWAT is still shooting.

Gillian hits Hotch's chest. "LET ME OUT! I PROMISED HIM!"

He stands the punches and softly presses her arms. Then she hides her face against his vest, muttering: "I told'im I wouldn't leave'im…"

Morgan and Jennifer go back out to the backyard in complete silence.

Hotch rounds Gillian's shoulders with his arm, holding her up without a word while she cries her heart out. And he wishes there's anything he can tell her, but there are no wise or comforting words he can say to her. So he just holds her, forcing himself to breathe deep and keep calm, because every of her tears feel like a personal insult to him. He feels her hands desperately clinging to his arms, and her pain seems to ache in his own chest. So he holds her tighter, and rests his cheek against her dark hair, offering the few, useless, late protection he can give her.

She's too devastated to process it, let out express it, but she also gives him what few she has left to give. Which right now is breaking down in his arms, without trying to hide anything of what's tearing her apart, completely counting on him to keep holding her up and from breaking to pieces.

And Hotch sees it. This daredevil, proud, brilliant woman, who never lets anybody see her even hesitate, is gifting him with her open weakness and her utter trust. Knowing he would never tarnish it with his pity.

He can feel this disturbing bond between them growing even stronger. The way they read and know and use and care for each other beyond any logic. Scary enough to keep them so carefully away. Yet there, dormant, just waiting to show.

Like now.

He realizes she's no longer crying and is trying to step back. So he allows her to and waits for her to face him. She dumbly wipes up her eyes and nose in her sleeve and keeps her reddened eyes low, her dull voice contradicting her words: "I'm fine, agent Hotchner."

Two arms' length. It's a good sing, Gillian is sort of back.

"Ok, then let's go," he says.

Hotch points at the window and she shakes her head. He frowns. "You don't wanna go that way," he says.

"I need to see it." She finally meets his eyes, pale and broken, but determined. "I need to see what my father is capable of."

Hotch understands that, right now, rage is the only thing that can get her out of this place by her own feet. So he sighs his disagreement, but unlocks the door behind him.


	18. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Four 3-6

The place is a smoking ruin, every bit of furniture and decoration shredded to pieces and splinters, as if a hurricane just blasted through. Two SWAT agents are moving around, masks still on, searching for something.

Gillian and Hotch come from the rest-room covering their mouths and noses with their sleeves.

One of the agents spots them and hurries to them: "Lieutenant! We were looking for you! Your father-!"

Hotch's hand against his chest roughly cuts his words and his way. Nobody even remotely related to King Gillian is going anywhere near her until further notice. He'll make sure of that. He faces the puzzled agent and says in his driest way: "We'll be right out."

Both SWAT agents leave while Gillian looks around, forcing herself to look at every inch of that violent mess, to never forget the tiniest detail of it. She finds Phil's body half-covered by the pieces of a table and goes to kneel by him. Hotch stands by her without a word.

Gillian feels her mind growing numb and heavy, and she's grateful for that. Really grateful. She doesn't want to think. She doesn't want to feel, either, but one out of two is not that bad. So she lets herself drop abruptly down from overdrive into autopilot. Hotch is there with her. He'll know what to do.

She lingers by Phil. She doesn't register the so unnecessary many wounds in his body, and she doesn't mind the thickening blood pooling beneath him. Finally her hand decides to gently close his eyes and brush the air off his face.

Then Hotch sees King Gillian striding to what's left of the coffee shop. He doesn't step in, though, but stands on the sidewalk.

"Reg, child! I knew you'd be fine!"

Hotch clearly feels her stiffen at his voice first, then harder at his words.

She refuses Hotch's help to stand up. She doesn't even glance at him, her blue eyes clear and dry now, glaring fixed on the dark silhouette cut in black against the daylight out on the street.

King Gillian sees her coming and flashes his commander-of-the-year smile. She registers his smile and feels the urgent need to smash it. Instead of clenching in a fist, her hand removes the police badge from her waist.

She lets her hand do. It's way better than a punch: it will really hit the man when it hurts most. And somewhere very deep inside of her, she's been wanting to do this for some time now. But only with her mind in standby it comes to surface.

Her feet don't pause as her hand throws her badge at his feet. They take her out to the middle of the street and only then they stop and turn around.

And she sees the old man leaning to take her badge.

And all of a sudden it's terrifying —the sudden absence of that stupid little weight gone from her belt, where it hung for half her life. She feels naked, and lost, and helpless in so many disturbing ways. There's no coming back from this. And she doesn't know anything else.

But then Hotch is passing by the man that used to be her father, who just a while ago ordered to shoot her to protect his precious reputation, and her ears hear him snarl at Hotch —the stupid bold caring man who brought her back to life, when he hardly knew about her any more than her name and that he didn't like her, the same that just saved her life again.

And that man she wishes she'd never known is saying: "Congratulations, agent. Hope you're proud of your new recruit."

She feels the fire burning her belly and creeping up her chest. But then she finds Hotch's eyes. And as he's walking to meet her in the middle of the street, she clings to his eyes, so surprisingly clear in the sun —is it the first time she sees him in the sunlight? He's looking straight at her. He's not smiling —what a surprise. He wants her to breathe deep and wait for him. He doesn't need to word it. She knows.

So Gillian does. She keeps staring at him until he comes to stop half a step away from her. They don't trade a single gesture, nor a word. They just turn around and head together in complete silence to the tent, where their teams are waiting for them.


	19. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Four 4-6

_"__God, how we get our fingertips in each other's clay. That's friendship, each playing the potter to see what shapes we can make of each other" - Ray Bradbury_

Connor shows up at the open door of Gillian's bedroom and knocks on the frame. She's laying back on her bed, loosely holding a throw pillow to her chest. Her mind is trying to kick in from autopilot, and she's trying to talk it into giving it a while longer.

"Hey, mom, wanna grab a bite?"

Gillian looks up at her son and forces a smile at him as she nods. "I'll be right down."

Connor leaves and Gillian kicks herself up and her feet to the floor. Then her eyes fall on the framed pictures on her bedside: one of Connor, one of King Gillian. She grabs King Gillian's when her phone rings. She checks it and takes the call smiling.

"Hey, muscles…"

Morgan's voice is like one of his hugs: adorable. "Hey, baby, just wanted to check on you before leaving."

As they speak, Gillian strolls across the room with the framed picture and drops it in the paper bin by her desk. "Aren't you a total sweet. I'm fine, love, don't worry. I'm just about to have dinner."

"Then you're up for a beer?"

She looks sharply up and out the door. His voice sounded that way, not only on the phone. Then she notices the rumor of steps all over the ground floor. Her son has just grown too many feet or there are more people in her house.

She hurries to the stairs, and at the second step she spots Morgan down there, smiling up at her. She walks down shaking her head, and sees Jennifer heading to the kitchen with two paper bags full of snacks.

"I brought your favorites," she says, not stopping.

Gillian reaches the ground floor and Morgan throws his arm around her shoulders, hugging her. She holds him back tight, in no hurry to let him go.

"This is exactly what I was needing," she sighs, still hugging him.

Morgan kisses her hair smiling. "All the love you need, baby. All the love you need."

The whole BAU team is there, and also Aldana and Tanya. So Gillian naturally slips into her smartass self and teases and brags. Nobody is actually expecting her to, considering what happened hardly eight hours ago, but everybody plays along and enjoys the show. The more when Hotch is there too, for the first time.

Soon wasted youth turns on the PS and the TV, and Connor challenges Rossi to race cars. Reid and Tanya agree that such a clash of titans it's worth watching and stay with them at the couch. The rest of them linger sitting at the table, with the cold beers the profilers accurately profiled as necessary for the evening.

"So you're really quitting the force, Reg?" Jennifer asks, still not believing it.

Gillian nods killing her beer and stands up, to start picking the thousand empty dishes and bottles from the table.

"And what're you gonna do?" Morgan asks. "You're just walking out on your team?"

"I have an offer to consider," Gillian says. "But I think agent Hotchner here can fill you guys in better than me."

"It's Hotch…," he says, not for the first time in the last two hours.

"Told you I'm not going out on a date with you, agent Hotchner, so drop it already."

Hotch scoffs as the others laugh. Gillian winks at Morgan and heads to the kitchen as Hotch explains: "The bureau offered her to join out Local Counter Terrorism Unit. Our brass is interested in having the whole TPU as a mobile task force for the East Coast, based here in Boston."

At the couch, Rossi stands up shaking his head, sick and tired of Connor kicking his ass. "Next loser!" Connor calls out.

Tanya takes the dropped joystick and Aldana hurries to the couch, while Rossi and Reid go to the table. Morgan turns to Hotch. "And how did you know about that offer?"

"The TPU joining Local Terrorism?" Rossi asks.

"You knew about it too?" Jennifer frowns.

"Yes. A few weeks ago, Cruz was telling us how hard it is to find the right assets for our CT unit, and Hotch told him about the TPU."

"I'd heard Boston PD was considering breaking the unit apart over budget issues," Hotch explains. "We all know what's that like…"

Morgan frowns. "And how on earth would you know that?" —give it up already.

Reid smiles. "Connor told me and I told Hotch."

Morgan frown turns into an ironic smirk. "So there comes agent Hotchner to the rescue…"

"The scowl that keeps the world spinning," Rossi quotes.

Hotch puts on his benevolent leader smile and lets them go on. Bad thing about not having a sense of humor: nobody cares about having fun _with_ you, but everybody makes fun of you.

"I'm having t-shirts with that!" Morgan chuckles.

"I'm having one with blonde-with-a-brain," points Jennifer. "And you, Spence, should have one with genius-with-a-heart-of-gold."

Reid nods smiling. "She made Palmer relate to us with a few words…" The laughter dies away as they nod. Reid looks around. "But where is she?"

Morgan nods at the kitchen, Rossi says: "Let's give her a break. Today wasn't easy for her. In any way at all."

Jennifer glances at Hotch. Morgan notices and points: "JJ is right. Reg won't listen to any of us."

Hotch frowns. He's just so fine sitting there —at the head of the table, having a beer, while they mock him. But all of them stare at him, waiting. Hotch sighs. He's not moving from his chair.

Much to the locals' jolt, cos they only know him speaking rather short and low and dry, Hotch thunders the ground floor: "GILLIAN! DON'T MAKE ME COME AND GET YOU!"

Rossi scoffs. "Well, that's a fine example of cave man courting for you."

Gillian's voice comes from the kitchen: "You and what army!?"

"I think you should go, Hotch," points Morgan.

Hotch is not giving up that easy. So he recalls: "She said she wanted to be _Dave's_ daughter, not mine."

Wrong comment, as all the faces around the table turn ironic or sarcastic.

"Hotch, don't make us profile you guys," Jennifer seriously threats.

"I think we should write a paper about them." —When even Reid picks on irony…

"It would make a nice seminar," Rossi agrees.

"Ok, ok, I'm going…" Hotch sighs, standing up.

They watch him go to the kitchen.

"Those two are a nice piece of work," Rossi smiles.

Jennifer slightly shakes her head. "It's like they don't like caring about each other, but they just can't help it."

None of them go further than that. Some signs may be there in plain sight for them, but knowing them both, the bare idea of Hotch and Gillian… Well, that's just breaking the borders of logic into plain surrealism.

_At least for now_, thinks Rossi, who knows Jennifer just described it with her usual sharp accuracy, and is actually curious about how that tangle of mutual rejection and deep understanding will play out in time.


	20. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Four 5-6

Gillian is doing the dishes when Hotch comes in, and he rests against the fridge.

"They sent you," she says, not looking back at him, yet her voice says she's smiling.

"Yeah…"

Gillian keeps on the dishes. There's an awkward pause. None of them want to be alone with each other. Not even with all their friends four steps away in the next room.

Hotch kills his beer and without stopping to think about it, the family man kicks in and he leaves the empty bottle, picks a kitchen cloth and starts drying the dishes she's washing.

They work in silence for a few minutes, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Hotch is reliving that horrible moment back in the coffee shop when SWAT broke in, when he almost didn't get to her in time to pull her back from the line of fire. Which leads him like a sledge to the moment right after that, in the ladies room.

Gillian focuses on a tiny crumb sticking to a dish, because she can smell his cologne and her stupid sense memory takes her back to the same moment he's recalling. And she doesn't only relive the throbbing pain ripping her heart apart, but also the way she felt like curling up against him, and how he took her in, gently wrapping her in his silent understanding. —Gently. Understanding.

And Hotch feels it again, the physical need of running away from each other, because neither of them can't actually deal with being around somebody that makes them feel so exposed.

He can tell she loves him and she hates him in equal proportions for how he makes her feel. And she's very aware of it, and accepts it just like it is. Because that's just how she is.

He, on the other hand, will bury it as soon as he walks out her door tonight, he'll lock it away and turn his back on it. Again. And time will do what it does best: pass by. And maybe one day he'll come back to it and rationalize it. Maybe. He's fought too hard to bring some peace and stability to his life after Haley's death. He's earned a break. He's not in shape to cope with any more deep feelings than his love for Jack. He needs his personal life to flow easy and smooth for some… twenty more years. Or thirty, why not?

Until then-

Hotch realizes his hand is stretched out to her, waiting for the next wet dish. And Gillian is scowling up at him, really wishing she could throat him right there and then.

"What the hell are you doing?" she snarls.

Hotch scowls back, pretty convinced what he's doing is rather evident.

Stupid, stupid, stupid man. He can't just be helping her to do the dishes. Not in such a natural way. Not standing only a step away from her with his stupid cologne.

She closes the faucet shaking her head. Hotch frowns —there are still three dishes left in the sink.

And she bursts out in a heartfelt laughter.

At the table, they look up at the sound of Gillian's laughter.

"See?" Morgan points. "How does she get Hotch to be _funny_?"

Rossi raises his eyebrows, in doubt. "I don't think he was meaning to."


	21. Gillian Saga III - Closure Act Four 6-6

Then Hotch and Gillian come out of the kitchen. She's still chuckling and he's smiling. Gillian goes straight to the couch, the furthest corner from the table, to find her cool back. Hotch joins the team and finds all of them staring at him.

"What…"

Jennifer hurries to shrug. "Nothing."

"MORGAN! COME PLAY WITH ME!" Gillian calls from the couch.

"So you can kick my ass? No way!"

"C'mon, sugar! Give me some!"

Morgan smiles standing up. "Ok! But only if Connor helps me!" he says, and sighs: "There's no saying no to this woman."

While Hotch opens another beer, Jennifer and Reid join the others on the couch. They can tell when it's time for mom and pa to have one of their conversations. Rossi glances at Hotch.

"How is she, really," he asks.

Hotch raises his eyebrows. "Her father didn't know we were going in back. And he ordered the attack while she was still in there."

"And she's aware of that?"

"Too aware, I'm afraid. That's why she wanted to see the shop after SWAT broke in."

"And you let her do it. Why? It's not like you exposing anyone like that."

"Guess I needed to see it too. A father doing something like that…?"

"I think that's why she was instinctively able to empathize with Palmer. Abuse can take many different forms."

"Yes. And she doesn't deserve it, Dave. Nobody does…"

"That's why you talked to Cruz. To try to protect her."

Hotch looks past Rossi, at Gillian and Morgan playing and bullying each other to everybody's joy. He hasn't thought about it, but now he-

"I know you didn't think about it, but it's better that way. These things are meant to be felt, not thought."

Hotch gears in reverse and floors it. "What are you talking about."

"Abuse can take many forms, Aaron. So does affection."

That's the edge of talking to Dave. Hotch is about to put up a wall of objections but Rossi doesn't give him a chance. "You feel about her the same way you feel about JJ, or Reid. And it's ok. Join the club, we all like her and care about her —in case you didn't notice."

He's just offered Hotch the one honorable exit that doesn't imply kneeling with a Japanese blade. And Gillian gives him the real escape: "DAVE! HELP, PLEASE!"

Rossi smiles. "Foster daughter calling…"

He pats Hotch's arm and goes to the couch. Gillian hands him the joystick standing up to give him her place. "Avenge my pride, Dave. Show no mercy."

"With pleasure."

Gillian heads to the table and to Hotch, and he sees her coming feeling he can finally relax. It's safe. Their friends are there with them, so it's going to be an easy chat. With one or two edges because it's Gillian, but that just spices up the moment.

"A beer, please, agent Hotchner?"

He hands her one scoffing. "You know. It's really awkward that you keep calling me that."

Only they know how awkward it really is. But none of them is about to comment.

"You saved my life twice already. One day it's gonna be me having your back, and maybe then I can call you different."

"You're keeping score. You have serious trust issues, Gillian."

"Profiling me? Again?"

It's so easy, and it feels so light and good.

"The scowl that keeps the world spinning? You're paying for that."

"Hey! I also said big heart."

"Yeah, that was even worse."

"You should be grateful I didn't word the true label I have for you."

Warning: edge. Gillian lowers her voice, looking away from him with a… a _shy_ smirk? Ok, this has to be definitively worth hearing.

"Stupid bold caring man," she says, with that weird mix of affection and rejection she harbors for him.

Hotch lowers his head to listen to her. He finds her eyes, frowning and smiling at the same time. "Stupid…?"

"…bold caring man."

Ok. Memo to come back later to this. Twenty years from now.

Then his look slides past her and he finds everybody's eyes fixed on them. Gillian notices his look and glances over at the TV.

Without transition her voice goes up to her normal volume and she quips: "Sorry, guys, but we're not having wild sex on the table for you while my son is in the room."

All of them huff and scoff and try to send Connor away for about ten seconds, then they turn their attention back to the TV.

She turns back to him and finds him smiling and shaking his head. _Embarrassed_.

"C'mon, don't smile like that. I might feel like hugging you."

She's teasing again, so he plays along. "Don't you even _think_ about it, Gillian."

"I mean no offense, but I rather _die_, agent Hotchner."

"It's Hotch."

"It's Reg."

Still watching them, Reid leans to Jennifer's ear: "Tonight Hotch's already smiled more than in the whole last year."

"Well, friends do that."

"Do what, smile?"

"They make you smile, Spence."

She winks at Reid and he automatically smiles. "Yeah, you're right…"


End file.
